Food Safety

I have been in the food industry for 20 years, so I know a little about food safety and personal hygiene.  Here is a list of some good habits to get into:
1.  Washing hands for at least 20 seconds prior to the preparation of food with soap and water( it doesn't have to be hot water as that might cause damage, cracking of the skin, where bacteria might hide).  It also doesn't hurt to repeat this procedure every so often especially when changing from one type of food to another ie fish, dairy or meat to vegetable.
2. Cross contamination can occur when you are preparing foods of a different nature ie vegetable, fish, fowl, red meat and dairy.   So wash your hands and utensils in between.
3. It is always better to pour from a container rather than use a spoon or your hands.  If not, make sure that the utensils that you are using are clean.   Once removed from a container, never return the food to its original container.  Use a separate container if necessary.   A rule of thumb, 2 hours at room temperature and throw the food out.
3a.  Date all containers.  Depending on the nature of the food, the food has a lifespan of 3 to 5 days.
3b.  Remember that the longer a food is kept out at room temperature the shorter its lifespan.  You might have less than 3 days lifespan as a result.
4. Use a large enough spoon to convey food so that you don't have to use your hand to stabilize it.
5. It is best not to put hot food in the refrigerator.  Cool the food as quickly as possible in cold water and put it the smallest containers as possible to maximize circulation in the refrigerator or freezer.
6.  It is best not to over stuff your refrigerator or freezer as this this prevents the proper cooling and or freezing and may lead to food spoilage or worse.
6a.  The refrigerator should be kept at about 39 degrees F.  Invest in a thermometer or two.
6b.  A word of caution on the operation of your refrigerator or freezer, if you attempt to to keep them too cold, it will prevent the defrost cycle from operating properly.
6c.  Try to keep refrigerator and freezer doors open as little as possible.  If you have to spend too much time with the doors open, it means that your refrigerator/freezer is overstuffed and poorly organized.  Don't do prep work from the refrigerator with the door open. Remove the items that you wish to work with and process them outside the confines of an open refrigerator.
7.  Hot food temperature must be maintained above 140 degrees F to prevent the proliferation of bacteria.
8. Never eat and keep talking to a minimum,  while you are preparing food as this will spread the spittle from your mouth with its accompanying bacteria.
9.  Never attempt to prepare so much food that it will stay at room temperature in excess of half an hour.
10. " Stomach viruses" are often mistaken for food poisoning.  If your family receives an inordinate number of "stomach viruses" check your food handling and procedures.
11.  To be continued.

Canoeing

There is not a lot to mention about canoeing as far as excitement is concerned,  it is just good exercise, fresh air and beautiful surroundings.
However, Tuesday,  August 25, 2015 about 6 PM changed all that.  
I was canoeing on the other side of the lake opposite the South Shore on Lake Arthur when the canoe suddenly capsized.   There was no wind,  the water was almost glass like barely a ripple evident.  It just felt like something grabbed a hold of it and flipped it over.
My wife said that the bow of the boat was high in the air when I left shore earlier, which meant that the canoe inherently  was in an unstable situation.
I did everything wrong that day.   The clothing that I wore,  mostly nylon could not be shed. It wrapped around my body like armor threatening to take me under.  As a result I couldn't swim to shore but sensibly clung to the canoe and shouted for help.  Stupidly, I was not wearing a life jacket which could have made my situation a lot less precarious.
I shouted for help but no one was near by and could hear me.   They couldn't see me because my canoe was green and blended in with the surrounding terrain.
My grandson Mendel finally spotted me after I was 10 minutes in the water and he told his father Yaakov who immediately knew what to do.  He launched our inflatable kayak and rescued me about 10 minutes later pulling me to shore.
A sailing vessel near by helped by gathering the canoe and all the other floating debris and brought it to shore.
The whole episode totaled less than an hour but it has changed my life and I will probably recognize it more so in the days ahead.
I am very appreciative to those people who came to my assistance especially Mendel who noticed my distress and to Yaakov for coming to my assistance in a timely fashion and knew exactly what to do.
In the days ahead I expect to learn how to dress more appropriately while on the water, always wear a life jacket and possibly replace my canoe with one more readily visible.  I will also be looking for more safety tips and advice.   There is a small air horn with a compressed air canister which you can buy and to attach to your person which can allow someone to at least hear you.
The canoe itself was not buoyant and the seats( flotation part of the canoe) rapidly filled with water, another 20-30 minutes and it would have gone under.
After canoeing for 30 years I received a wake up call to safety on the water (don't take it for granted) and to life (don't take it for granted) either.

Elephant in the Parlor

Mom, there is an elephant in the parlor.  Yes dear, please don't let your imagination run wild.  But Mom there is an elephant in the parlor.  Yes dear,  but I am busy right now.  Please don't bother me.

There is an elephant in the parlor but it isn't Republican or Democratic, it is an unholy  alliance of pharmaceutical companies, agricultural companies ( seed, like in Monsanto), medical schools and cell phone companies.

What is the problem?  One in 50 children now born are to develop some form of autism, while almost all the rest have allergies and or  gastrointestinal disorder.  People in there 60's and 70's are developing gastrointestinal disorders.

What has changed in the last twenty years to create this situation?  Concentration of cell phone towers and users has increased dramatically.  Seeing that many of our brain functions are dependent on bio, chemical,magnetic processes this could pose a problem to all life.  The use of genetically modified foods has gone from 0 to almost 100%.  It is almost impossible to find wheat and soy products that are not produced from genetically modified seeds.  Think!  If a seed is grown that is resistant to disease and insects, what will it do to you?  Vaccinations are another problem.   They are made cheaply and with preservatives and extenders such as mercury, aluminum, formaldehyde etc and there are over prescribed to almost everyone.  Just as antibiotics were over prescribed with dire results.

Would you use a product that has been "tested"  by the very people that have the most to benefit from their widespread use?   We are talking 100's of billions of dollars annually.  Try finding test results and procedures on line.

Coup

Coup a sudden, violent, and illegal seizure of power from a government.
The following constitute some of the warning signs of a potential coup:
1.  Strong central leadership who ignores all constitutional law and rules by fiat.
2.  Strong central leadership has an agenda and will stop at nothing to see it through.
3.  Weak congressional leadership who are disorganized and unprincipled.  They believe everything can be compromised.
4.  Weak congressional leadership has no clear cut agenda and is totally unable to see itself out of the morass that it finds itself and the country in.
5.  The country is divided by race, religion, sexual orientation and wealth and intentionally so.  There are no coherent righteous, principled and practical leaders of any religious, racial, sexual persuasion and socio economic group.
6.  The media are now newsmakers and not reporters and favor more liberal causes and a liberal agenda.  
7.  The whole goal of the media and strong central leadership to to divide the country with class, racial and religious envy and hatred.
8.  The setting up of an independent military i e Homeland Security ( now numbering over 140,000), interment camps capable of containing 2-3 million individuals and the gradual weakening of the regular army and reserves by overextending their use  worldwide in limited but costly engagements in terms of lives and resources.
9.  The feminization of society leading to the erosion of the family, family values and the weakening and demoralization of the military.
10. The use of guns for sport shooting, hunting and defense is under continuous attack by govt', media, liberal groups and individuals and the govt' in an effort to weaken the resolve  of the civilian population in a media led effort to tie the violence in our schools and the  nation to guns.
11. The time frame for this will most likely occur from just before the 2016 elections to just before the inauguration of the President and Congress.

Elephant in the Parlour

There is a new game in town.  If you don't agree with the establishment you are ridiculed, demeaned and  ostracized.   Vaccination is now  the hot topic of the day lead by corporations who have 100's of billions of dollars to win or lose, a food industry that is enamored and powered by the Genetically Modified Food Monopoly and the very formidable medical profession who have everything that we aspire for materially: money, status and power versus parents , mothers and fathers who only desire to have well children and are seeking answers.
They, we are amazed at what is going on around us:   over 1% of our kids are being diagnosed with autism and allergies, diabetes and intestinal problems are rampant.  All this has occurred in the space of just 20 years.  Our children have never been in this poor health before.  Why?  You have only to look at what I call the improper use and abuse of vaccines,  genetically modified foods and cell phone usage and you can see that they correlate to the rise of health problems in the U S.
What really upsets me though is that as parents we are expected to toe the line in respect to the vaccination of our children to the total disregard of our own experiences and intuition to be lead blindly by physicians who have been taught to blindly to follow the Protocols of Vaccination.  I believe that the sheer number of vaccinations at an early age in a short period of time is detrimental to the health of our children.

Enhanced Resume

Enhanced Resume

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Phone xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
E-mail xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

OBJECTIVE

To Work in production/research in a hands on capacity with a company utilizing my technical skills and experience.

DESIRED OCCUPATION: Materials Technologist

EMPLOYMENT HISTORY

Employer:  xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Title:  Food Service Manager
Location:  Pittsburgh, PA

Duration:  11/2008 - 4/2011

Talk about stupidity and arrogance.   Aladdin Food Service was hired to improve food service and cut costs.  It did neither but caused all of us peons a lot of grief.  People were hired who had no business in a supervisory position.  Decisions were made with no forethought what so ever or any input from the people who had to carry them out.  Change was the order of the day.   The workload as a result was increased dramatically.

Kickbacks to Aladdin from suppliers were commonplace.  One supplier admitted that they tacked on 7% for billing purposes as a result of kickbacks.  Apparently it is legal but not totally ethical.  There is a fiduciary responsibility there which is lacking.

I was fired for not behaving properly towards Chef David.  I politely asked him if it would be possible if he and the rest of Aladdin employees would use the front door as I had to take time out from my work to open the door for Aladdin’s Staff.  I was eventually rehired and Chef David (pompous ass) was eventually fired.

Brad (VP of Aladdin’s Kosher Div) set all of us peons down and lectured us that he would like us all to remain at xxxxxxxxxx but in past experiences he found most employees left when Aladdin came in.(Huh!)

Brad also set a group of us down one day when it looked like the contract to Aladdin was going to be terminated and told us that if he goes we will go.

Brad was finally relocated to New Jersey but unfortunately Aladdin still remained.

I worked part time 12-16 hours a week.  When I was told that I have to work 40 hours a week on demand and all Jewish Holidays, I gave them my 2 week notice and left.

Job Duties:  Kosher supervision of food. Helped to serve patients and in the prepping and cooking of food to maintain appearance, nutrition and taste.

Employer: xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Title: Food Service Manager
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Duration: 11/1997 - 11/2008

Job Duties: Ordered all materials and foods necessary for production Actively engaged in the planning of patient menus.

 Innovated new methods of freezing patient meals. Actively involved in sanitation.

Helped to serve patients at several area hospitals.

Helped in the prepping and cooking of food to maintain appearance, nutrition and taste.

There is a tremendous turnover in dietary personnel, well over 200%/year.  Training is minimal and primarily a legal sign off procedure.  The administration does not seem to care about its employees.   Morale is low.   Turnover affects patient care and increases costs for training, but the administration i e xxxxxxxx (totally out of his element) and his paramour xxxxxxxxxxxxx (rules with an iron fist) are not concerned about anything except their way of doing things.

xxxxx was an expert in everything.  She was a food dietician for 19 years and was then elevated to food service director.  Some of her stunts:  ordering delivery carts too big to fit through patients’ room doors,  ordering very expensive delivery carts (kept the food both hot and cold) but boy did they require maintenance.

Even employees in the kosher kitchen have problems.  Appearance, taste and quality have gone out the window.  xxxxxxxxxxx who is now in charge, intermingles funds, collected from sales of meals to satisfy extra labor costs which he feels is needed in the department.

xxxxx spends much of his time on the phone talking to either his Mother or spouse.

xxxxxxxxxxx was another case in point.  He argued with all his superiors at UPMC

To the extent that he was terminated after just a few months.  Shortly before leaving he threw out and/or destroyed 75 years of records of the kosher Kitchen.  When I asked him  why  he did that xxxxx said,  “I will not have my name associated with anything that I do not  consider halachically correct”.

Employer: Servsteel Inc.

Title: Production Coordinator
Location: Morgan, PA
Duration: 11/1995 - 11/1997

Job Duties: Coordinate and facilitate production to ensure that materials, people and equipment were available to most efficiently use available resources.

Interesting work environment. Union and management detested each other.

I okd some ceramic gates that were slightly substandard and had them fail in use.  Molten steel everywhere.  Fortunately no one was injured.  Last time that I listened to coworkers.

I was to develop a lined wooden mold to cut production costs.  I did not realize that I was not to contact anyone.  I did contact suppliers etc and found out what I already knew, that it was not technically feasible at that time.

I kept inventory of all raw materials and notified my superiors when they were to reorder.  They never listened and we always ran out.

Needless to say that I didn’t last 3 months.

Employer: Simple Treat

Title: Food Service Manager
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Duration: 11/1988 - 11/1995

Job Duties: Supervise and facilitate the preparation of breads, cakes and pastries.

Yum, yum but watch out cholesterol.

Sherman Weinstein was one of those rare bosses, knowledgeable and fair.

Employer:  Prime Kosher

Location:   Pittsburgh, PA

Duration:

Title:  Mashgiach

Kosher supervision of facility but with main effort on koshering and traboring (deveining) meat.

Under Rabbi xxxxxxxx, supervising Rabbi, who may have known less than I about the kashrus of food.

To our Deli Manager, Don, who took enough products without recording them to support himself and also make the Deli look good.  I was continuously finding packaged deli in the trash bin outside where it would be picked up after hours.

To xxxxxxxxxxxx who always told me that I was wasting too much meat in my koshering.  His idea of a pay raise was to pay me under the table so that I wouldn’t have to pay taxes.

To the butchers John and Gary who always cut more meat than necessary, wasting hundreds if not thousands of dollars every week.

Employer: Ceramic Color and Chemical

Title: Ceramic Engineer
Location: New Brighton, PA
Duration: 11/1981 - 11/1988

Job Duties: My experience includes the calculation of compositions, weighing, mixing, processing, firing and testing of inorganic pigments, enamels, glazes and glasses.

Our motto was: We pollute on land, sea and air.  Funny thing that happened, while I was working there.  A large tank(5000 gallons) of sulphuric acid, supposedly neutralized, leaked onto the ground.  Over the years it leached into the ground and corroded a large steel gas line buried 30 feet below the surface.   I used to go right after a rain and ignite the gas bubbles that came to the surface.   That’s fun? Or crazy?

Bill Wenning, our boss, was always willing to demonstrate to anyone that he was smarter and tougher than anyone else.
A favorite story Bill used to tell was about a gentleman who used one of Ceramic Color’s products in a tunnel.  It failed.  The gentleman committed suicide.

Employer: Gerber Plumbing Fixtures

Title: Ceramic Engineer
Location: Woodbridge, NJ
Duration: 04/1978 - 11/1981

Job Duties:

Ran daily check to control specific gravity and viscosity for plant use. Analyzed glazes to determine cost effectiveness. Developed colors and glazes in the laboratory and implemented their manufacture in production.

Calculated new compositions and modified older existing ones. Performed all necessary checks to evaluate new products and raw materials. Innovated new methods of mixing and milling colors. Increased atmosphere and effective quality control.

Investigated and tested refractories for thermal shock and corrosion resistance reducing refractory costs by 30 to 50% Identified inclusions in finished ware and ascertained their source; losses were running 15 to 100% due to contaminated raw materials.

Tested raw materials for particle size, chemical composition and mineral content, maintaining high quality standards.

Wrote and instituted testing procedures for contaminants in raw materials. Engaged in mineral analysis using petrographic microscope.

Never trust suppliers.  We were running losses at times of 100%.  The ware looked like tapioca pudding.  It was finally traced to our trucking company that was supposed to use dedicated trucks for the transportation of feldspar, but they also carried aragonite (calcium carbonate) on their return leg.

 Jim Stavrolakis was hired to turn things around.  PHD type who spent 80% of his life on the road.  Nice, quiet man but a hatchet man nonetheless, fired so many people, that no one else in the company (who were left) would work with him.  He was terminated as a result.  While he was wondering what to do with his life, he was in the midst of a divorce, the president of the company (Oscar Gerber) and the company controller ( Bruno Spiewak) had the misfortune to check on him.  They were worried about him.  They were both blown away and then Jim committed suicide.

Jim once told me that if I want to get ahead in this company that I should court and marry the boss’s daughter

I called off sick one day for a job interview in Florida.  It didn’t pan out.  The following day Jim came over to me and was wondering why I had to go to Florida to heal my cold.  Spies are everywhere.

Found out after I left how my raw material inventory was off.  Assistant plant manager and many of the employees were caught.  They produced more ware than they recorded and sold the excess on the side.  2000 to 3000 toilet bowls were sold every year courtesy of the Woodbridge Underground.  Hugo Golin, Plant Manager, was instrumental in discovering the theft when a “customer”  inadvertently asked to purchase an item when the plant was closed.

Employer:  Metro Glass

Title:  Glass Technologist

Job Duties:

Ran daily check to control specific gravity and viscosity for plant use

Calculated new compositions and modified older existing ones. Performed all necessary checks to evaluate new products and raw materials.

Tested raw materials for particle size, chemical composition and mineral content, maintaining high quality standards.

Wrote and instituted testing procedures for contaminants in raw materials. Engaged in mineral analysis using petrographic microscope.

Actively participated in 3 to 5  furnace heat ups per year.

Checked furnace atmosphere on regular basis in all plants.

Plants were running 10 to 15% losses due to stones (unmelted material) and cords( glass which has not properly melted).   Green glass was running chrome stones on a regular basis as well.

We busted our butt trying to determine what the source of all these stones were, of course our suppliers and workers were all doing a perfect job.

PGS, a sand company in Southern NJ was responsible for the major share.  When confronted with evidence that there sand was contaminated, they admitted culpability and even gave us a tour of their facilities to show how they tested for them.  Why didn’t they tell us before hand?

Lavino,  a chrome ore supplier also stated that there product was great and met all specs until we showed them that it was coarse and would not melt in our glass tanks.  Why didn’t they tell us before hand?

The workers In Carteret, N J. third shift discretely increased machine speed to to obtain bonuses without telling anyone.  A glass tank has to be preheated before increasing pull rate otherwise batch stones and cord will result.  Inventory of materials went out of kilter and shortages were rampant to the the tune of 2000 tons per year.  My friend Tom Stavish (batch and furnace) was caught off guard.  You don’t expect that your own people  would turn against you.  The glass cullet piled up.  Were we young and naive?

One of my jobs was to test the atmosphere in smoke stacks at various heights generally from 50 to 75 feet up.  One time in Jersey City, the rotting platform attached to a stack, that I was standing gave way. I almost bought it that time.

My boss, Robert Dreyfuss was pretty tough.  He had us work around glass tanks without proper gear to save the company money.  Our clothing and shoes would literally burn up from the heat.

One time he sent me to the airport to pick up a package. I didn’t have the money to pay for the package which was shipped COD.  I returned empty handed.  He was furious.  He assembled all the engineers and had us empty out our wallets and pockets.  There were several of us.  Together we didn’t have $20.  I was only making $12,600/year. What did he expect?

Larry Gould, an electronics technician asked for two days off for a Jewish holiday.  Bob said that he would ask his friend who was a reformed rabbi for an answer.   Of course his rabbi friend sided with Bob that Jewish holidays are celebrated for one day only.  Larry was forced to work on a Jewish holiday.

When I gave him notice that I was leaving for another job he fired me on the spot, immediately notifying security that I was not permitted back in the plant.  He probably felt that I was a bad influence.

Employer:  GTE Sylvania

Location:    Versailles Kentucky

Duration:

Title:  Glass Technologist

Duties:  Ran quality control laboratory to insure quality glass with uniform properties.

Install and maintain coating line for glass tubing.

Maintain water treatment for plant: including cooling towers and glass tanks.

Run area pollution surveillance for lead and contaminants from plant.

Never trust a weasel.  My Father told me not to trust Pearl Rutter, calling him a weasel.  I didn’t listen.  I was held responsible for erratic properties of the glass in the lab.  I did not know that Pearl was making unauthorized changes to the glass composition every day because that was the way he used to do it.  I found this out after I was fired.

It didn’t help when I told my supervisor that the glass tank heat ups could be a disaster.  Steel girders which were supposed to be continuous were not.   The crown was insulated and abutting the tie rods.  Cooling loops were closed and not usable.  Nowhere did anyone take into account the rapid expansion of refractories upon heating up. Trust Ray Biles, Engineering Supervisor and Ken Rock, Plant Engineer in their lackluster oversight of plant engineering and maintenance.

Ray was the gentleman who fired me,  most likely to cover up his ineptitude.  I E When I told him that I found what  was causing a particular piece of equipment to continuously get out of alignment, he became furious.  Maybe, my wording wasn’t very good.  If my memory serves me correctly I said,   “The ass hole who cut out 6 inches of reinforced concrete and replaced with 1 inch thick steel was at fault.” Ray said, “I am the asshole.”  The rest is history.

. 

The only job that I had where someone attempted to kill me.  An 18 inch wrench was dropped from a catwalk above my head narrowly missing me by inches.  When I looked up, no one was there.

Employer:  IBM

Location:   Lexington, Kentucky

Duration: 

Title:  Blueprint copier

Duties:   Copied blueprints for anyone who wanted them.

Was terminated when I went to summer camp in the Kentucky National Guard.  Hey IBM, nice supportive spirit of our men in uniform.

Employer:  Small Civil Engineering Firm

Location:  Lexington, Kentucky

Title:  Lab Supervisor

Duties:  To test all incoming concrete samples, log it and report to my supervisor, the results.  I was terminated after 3 months and still don’t know the reason why.  I was told that I didn’t take charge of the laboratory well enough. To be fair, I was the only person employed in the lab and also kept it  as clean as a mud lab could be.  I was not permitted in the main offices.

Employer:  Lexington Mall

Location:   Lexington, Kentucky

Duration:

Title:   Security and Maintenance

Basically I cleaned the place and called the police whenever anything went crazy.  Scary job,  alarms were always going off and I had to let the police in with their shotguns and automatic weapons on the ready.   Finally we traced the problem to kids living at night in the movie theatre and traveling from store to store thru the false ceilings.   Those ceilings were over 20 feet high.  How they got up and down is still a mystery to me.

Employer:   Lexington Fayette County Sewer Authority

Location:  Lexington, Kentucky

Duration:

Title:    Sludge Treatment Worker

The title says it all.  We removed the solids from the waste water.

Notes of humor:  Your coworkers can easily screw you to make themselves look good by not providing sufficient capacity so that you can do your job.

Mr. Monroe was in charge of the facility and made unauthorized changes to some equipment which invalidated the warrantee.  I believe they were centrifugal extractors but they never worked

Equipment and roads were not maintained as I can attest.  Try going up a hill with 0 visibility, defroster and wipers didn’t work, in a snow storm where the bed of the truck occasionally disengaged.   It happened and I suddenly found the truck with its front wheels in the air.

Employer:   Anchor Hocking

Location:   Lancaster, Ohio

Duration:   1968

Title:         Technician

Developed glasses as specified by supervising engineers.

Worked on ceramic glass bake ware similar to Corning Ware

Destroyed all paper work when we lost patent legal action to Corning

Worked on chemical tempering using cuprous chloride.

was a bust.  It strengthened already strong glass items such as glasses and percolator tops but did not increase the strength of weaker articles

Testing was poorly done.  To obtain better results poor results were either thrown out or ware was retested until better results were achieved.

My favorite was our CEO/President was shown a demonstration on pretested ware (percolator tops) to show how effective chemical tempering was.  When I blew the whistle on our testing techniques, I became persona non grata.  

EDUCATION

Major: Glass Technology

School: Alfred Univ., Coll. Of Ceramics

Location: NY

Degree: B.S. Glass Science

Completion Date: 06/1969

SKILLS AND ABILITIES

Ran Daily checks to control specific gravity and viscosity for plant use.
Analyzed glazes to determine cost effectiveness.

Developed colors and glazes in the laboratory and implemented their manufacture in production.

Calculated new compositions and modified older existing ones.
Performed all necessary check to evaluated new products and raw materials.
Innovated new methods of mixing and milling colors.

Increased production effectiveness by controlling firing time, components, kiln atmosphere and effective quality control.

Investigated and tested refractories for thermal shock and corrosion resistance reducing refractory costs by 30 to 50%.

Identified inclusions in finished ware and ascertained their source; losses were running 15 to 100% due to contaminated raw materials.

Tested raw materials for particle size, chemical composition and mineral content, maintaining high quality standards.

Wrote and instituted testing procedures for contaminants in raw materials.
Engaged in mineral analysis using petrographic microscope.

DESIRED LOCATION:

Within 10 miles of: xxxxxxxx

Old Age

Old age is something to look forward to, to kick off your shoes and inhibitions and relax for the remainder of your life. Or is it?
Most of us will be unable to continue our lifestyles when we retire due to fiscal foolishness and irresponsibility.. 
We will have to move to a building or area that will accommodate senior citizens only.  Isn't that wonderful?   Just think, everyone in your surroundings growing old together gracefully without the distractions of noisy families and their kids.   If we are fortunate, we will have the meals provided for us.  More fortunate, we will have entertainment provided as well.  Just think we have TV and the Internet and Restaurants and Shows to go to.  We will be be fed like Kings and Queens  almost to overindulgence,  then have to go on diets because we are overweight.
Why exercise when we can drive or be driven?  Why interact with people of all ages, races, nationalities and religions,  when we can can stay with our own peers and grow old gracefully?
Just think, with proper care, one can spend a quarter to a third of one's life in a retired or vegetative, I mean blissful state.
My Sister lives in one those retirement communities where everyone growing older together is maybe not quite so blissful .   Seventeen years ago, it seemed like a nice idea but reality has taken hold.   Her peers are dying at an alarming rate.  Since many of her peers now require aides and housekeepers to care for them, robbery and violence is now occurring where it had never occurred before.
Personally, I would not rather spend the remainder of my life in a blissful mode in the Garden of Eden.  I would much rather spend my time in a more positive manner living life to its fullest, surrounded by family, friends and neighbors and. working until the day that I die.  I do not want to spend my waning years in a building or area surrounded by people who I do not know being stuffed with food like an animal for slaughter and entertained as a contented cow.
A place and a way must be found for older people to work and thrive as long as possible in their own homes and environs.  This would do two things:  1. It would bring older people back into society in a constructive manner and  2.  It would limit the cost to society of supporting people in their Golden Years.

Obamacare

A very liberal person that I know accused the Republicans for the present form of Obamacare.   Apparently, the Republicans tried to implant a stipulation to control the cost of pharmaceuticals in Obamacare knowing full well that it would cause the very powerful pharmaceutical companies to oppose and thwart Obamacare.   As a result this cost control measure was never enacted in Obamacare.
It is also interesting to note that the US is the only nation in the world not to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies to reduce the cost of drugs.  As a result, research costs are borne almost entirely by the US consumer to defray the world wide discounting of pharmaceuticals.  
I wonder which is more:  the research costs or the advertising costs?
Why are medical costs so high?   I have a theory.   Don't we all?   It is a combination of several factors:
1. Very powerful pharmaceutical companies find it in their interest to keep the cost of drugs high.
2.  Medical schools subsidized in part by very powerful pharmaceutical companies churn out physicians who rely on high priced drugs and practices for their patients' medical needs.
3.  The failure of physicians and people in general, to avoid the high cost of medical care by proper lifestyle, diet and the the judicious use of supplements.
4.  The high costs that hospitals generate without any accountability to the actual costs involved.
5.  The failure of insurance companies to reign in the costs of medical care.
6.  The flagrant abuse of the the system by dishonest and unethical physicians and entrepreneurs.
7. The overuse of the system by the ill informed public.
 8.  Bush did it!!

Enhanced Resume

While writing/updating your resume, do you sometimes have the urge to let it all hang out?  To tell it the way it really was?   I am trying to decide whether or not to publish what I affectionately call My Enhanced Resume.  Fortunately or not, many of the leading characters are no longer with us but to those who are of recent memory, I will have to xxxxxxxx their names out in sense of proprietary.  Also, I don't want to get beat on.  You would have to be somewhat naive or stupid if you don't recognize yourself though.

Coney Island

We used to spend summers at Coney Island at a bungalow colony.  I don't recollect that we did this to often though, maybe once or twice in the late forties or early fifties.  Of course, those bungalows have long since been replaced by 20 story apartment buildings.   I haven't been back to Coney Island in 50-60 years though and I cannot imagine the changes that have occurred.
Our life revolved around the beach and the boardwalk  We never seemed to go further than the Half Moon Hotel  on one end and Seagate on the other.






http://www.brownstoner.com/blog/2013/06/past-and-present-the-half-moon-hotel-coney-island/

and filled in between with amusements and food.






https://www.google.com/search?q=steeplechase+coney+island&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=HvqyVMDiE4ymNquMg5gO&ved=0CC4QsAQ&biw=1024&bih=657

Steeplechase was a fun place but nothing compared to what we have today.   The most exciting part was the horses which rode on a rail (similar to a monorail roller coaster).  Inside the building were a a few amusements:  a large slide and not much else.



 

http://www.store.gabilas.com/

 Shatzkins on the Boardwalk for knishes.  I remember that they were rectangular and open ended, filled with potatoes, kasha and cheese  filling which were topped with blueberry, pineapple and other sundry delicacies.  Not for the weight conscious or faint of heart.





The Merry go round at Coney Island on the Boardwalk. We loved  to ride on the outside horses and attempt to obtain a ring (the gold ring good for another free ride, but it took 5 iron rings to do the same.) from a little device which was situated near the Merry go round.  You had to lean out to reach it.

Our Aunt Rose and Uncle Max Singer owned a supermarket in Seagate where we often shopped.  Their 3 sons: Jerry, Murray and Paul also worked there as well.  I remember them cutting out coupons from the Sunday papers which they then used for the profit of their business.

On the beach,  young men came around with insulated containers some selling hot knishes ( potato or kasha,) or frozen ice cream and ices.